New Senior Officer Rank: Senior Lt-Colonel
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Starting next July, moving to this rank will be a necessary step before promotion to Colonel
By Jermyn Chow
THE Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will introduce a new rank for commissioned officers next year, the first time it has done so in its 43-year history.The new Senior Lieutenant-Colonel rank will designate those who have been tapped for higher appointments in the army, navy and air force.
The insignia for the new rank will be two SAF crests and a braid.
Lieutenant-Colonels, who wear two SAF crests, will have to attain the new rank before they can be promoted to Colonel.
Images of the new rank insignia were first shown in SAF recruitment advertisements which appeared in print and other advertisements last Thursday.
Eagle-eyed readers who spotted the insignia and were puzzled by it then wrote to The Straits Times to find out more.
There has also been much online chatter about how the new rank will alter the career tracks of SAF officers.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Defence Ministry confirmed that the new rank will be rolled out next July.
The new rank is among sweeping changes to the SAF's employment schemes for regulars, including a key one that will raise the retirement age for officers to 50, unveiled in May to make serving in the military a more attractive and rewarding career option.
Military analysts were surprised by the move to introduce a new rank within the current nine-rank structure of the officer corps - one that was initially modelled on that of the British military.
Few militaries in the world have a variant of the Senior Lieutenant-Colonel rank. Among them are the armed forces of China, Vietnam and North Korea.
Dr Tim Huxley, executive director of the Singapore-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the move baffled him.
'The rank structure is already complicated enough, said Dr Huxley, who has written a book on the SAF, entitled Defending The Lion City: The Armed Forces Of Singapore.
'I just don't see how injecting an additional rank helps.' (Just wait longer!!!)
Several officers contacted by The Straits Times said they had been briefed on the details of the new rank at the beginning of the year, along with other changes to an officer's career track.
There are about 4,000 commissioned officers serving in the SAF now.
An army lieutenant-colonel who did not want to be named said the newly created rank would give some officers who choose not to assume higher command appointments the opportunity to specialise as chief trainers.
He said: 'At the same time, they can still be rewarded for the more complex roles that come with their job.'
Giving hope to some Condemned Officers...
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hahaha. and in a couple of years time there will be senior major, senior captain, senior LTA..
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win already lor..that mean too many LTC now lor
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Originally posted by Airforceone:
Few militaries in the world have a variant of the Senior Lieutenant-Colonel rank. Among them are the armed forces of China, Vietnam and North Korea.
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LTC so common.. go to formation HQ can see so many already.. lol
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Next rank will be Mentor Colonel, Senior Mentor Colonel....
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There can only be that many COL since not that many post so give 1 more rank so the LTCs can get promoted to something lo.
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hmm.. we now stand beside our communist brudders-in-arms... ahahahaha
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highest rank will be Crack LTC....the elite of all LTC
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major master general colonel mother of all colonels
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Think they trying to reduce pay by introducing another rank before Colonel.
Times are bad.
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Originally posted by Airforceone:
Few militaries in the world have a variant of the Senior Lieutenant-Colonel rank. Among them are the armed forces of China, Vietnam and North Korea.
A lot of funny funny shit under Lee Hsien Loong rule.
Now suddenly introduce communist military rank.
What's next, the party must always control the gun?
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Senior citizens.
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in future, it might be Senior Mentor 3rd Sergeant.....
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Then maybe got senior recruit and senior coporal also... damn.. Senior 3rd sergeant as well...
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Too many colonels now liao, so need a new rank senior Lt-Col.
If not, the young Lt-Col will have to wait long, long with no promotion. So, with the new rank, the young Lt-Col can get promotion to senior Lt-Col and then wait for their turn to be promoted to full colonel.
No promotion for a long time will dampen the motivation of the young Lt-col leh. So, die, die must give some promotion and hence the creation of the new rank senior Lt-Col.
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everyone needs a place to move up mah...
u will be buey song if u tio dio LTC for very long right...
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it's getting funny
now creating SLTC and the MDES...
soon what more rank TCH is going to implement to get more kar kia?
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next time there will be senior LTC 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class.
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those who just got promoted to COL sure laughing inside their heart
if slower by a bit, they would have been promoted to Senior Lieutenant-Colonel...
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I think e SAF/ MINDEF would soon become a super big organisation tat's doomed to be able to be governed in any efficient manner
Soon there'll be 8 MDES ranks, 10 occifer ranks, 5 Specialist ranks and 5 warrant ranks
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LTC first class!
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Senior Mentor Colonel Upper Class, Level 2, Stage 1, Yellow Belt, Grade AAA+, CEP 35
Goes to show we have too many officers, too many specialists, and too little men.
that is, too many c0ck-talkers and too little sh1t-doers.
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Originally posted by av98m:
next time there will be senior LTC 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class.
no matter what class or whatever, a lot of them got no class -
The Senior LTC rank was made for those whose CEP does not and cannot go beyond LTC and on to COL, this is to accommodate the 'longer' career for these hantak kakis now that the officer career has been extended to 50. So what will they do with all these hanta kakis from age 42 to 50?! Of course come up with something in between for them so it doesn't look so pai seh that they remain as LTC for 10 years and cannot make it to Full Colonel.
The high fliers will probably skip this mickey mouse Senior LTC rank altogether and progress from LTC directly to COL since Senior LTC was made for those who CMI to COL.